Brag Tag Classroom Management System

I'm slowly starting to get into back to school mode. I start setting up my classroom on Monday! Believe it or not, this summer did not fly by for me. I quite enjoyed my time off, but now I feel ready to head back into the classroom and get started using some of my summer creations in real life scenarios.

One of the things I am most excited to implement in my classroom this year is BRAG TAGS! Have you heard of them?

Allow me to elaborate.

Brag tags are a classroom management system created to reinforce positive behaviour, display student milestones and award your kids for growth that they make within the classroom.
Students can earn tags for many many reasons. Personally, I wouldn't award a tag to a student for expected behaviours, however if it is something that a specific child struggles with that would be an exception. They look like military style dog tags, but are printed from paper to be cost effective. They are essentially small awards to hand out throughout the day, week or year.

For example, little Johnny has a very hard time keeping his backpack organized. 2 months into school, Johnny suddenly has been working hard to keep his backpack on his hook and his belongings inside it. That would be a good time to give positive reinforcement for his improved behaviours! What a great opportunity to award him the 'Tidy Backpack Award!' Imagine how happy little Johnny would be to know that you noticed how hard he was trying.

When you earn tags, you put them on a ball chain like the one pictured below. I purchased mine HERE. I ordered 100 of them so that I would have enough to hold me over for a few years!

Setting Goals as a Whole Class:

As educators, we always have goals in our minds for our students to accomplish. We want them to be able to accomplish something. In my classroom, I thought about this. I wanted for my students to have a goal in mind, and for us to be able to work on it together as a class. I also set up a poster in my room (see below). Depending on the situation, I post either a brag tag of the day or week. If my students accomplish that goal, they will receive a brag tag!

To set up this classroom management tool in your classroom there are a few different ways to do it.
1. Give the chains to your students to be responsible for (suggested only in upper grades)
2. Create a bulletin boardbulletin board spot for students to see the whole class progress. I'm going to print off THESE EDITABLE LABLES with my students names on them and display them on the bulletin board with a push pin underneath to hold up the chain underneath. This is a very visual way to keep your students motivated and to keep up with it. We all have those students who have a hard time being positive, but looking for ways that they are trying and rewarding them just may be what they need to stay motivated.

This is what my bulletin board spot looks like:
- Each student's name is on the board
- Each student earns tags and adds them to their necklace

TIP: These ball chains are sort of fussy to keep opening and closing whenever you need to put a brag tag on them. Use a hoop ring clasp on the end of each for ease of access and to save frustration down the line.

Hopefully you found this blog post helpful! Let me know if you have any questions!

If you would like to grab my BRAG TAG FREEBIES or to check out my LIFETIME GROWING BRAGTAG BUNDLE click on the images below!

9 comments

Hi there, I was just wondering if you are having any Sales on TPT right now too? I see the site-wide promotions and I visit your blog/and tpt store often - but I noticed your home page is not loading on my iphone 7plus correctly (and it usually does) so I want to give you the heads up just in case it is more than an isolated incodent? I wouldn't want you to miss out on Sales/Promoting your (my fav) products this week. Tomorrow is my Bday and I FULLY plan to splurge on my tpt wishlist! ❤️❤️❤️ Have a Great Day ~

I attempted to make my purchase that night - after I got the kids/fam off to bed, but I did not realize it was based on EST.... I still have the screenshot I took showing my attenpts were before midnight, but that was prior to my discovering the EST in the details... Would you consider honoring that coupon so I may complete my transaction? I'll even buy a gift card/credit for double the amount if I can purchase it w the coupon? I don't know if that benifits you... Point being, I am confident I will eventually make more purchases from you anyway - I just wanted to find a way to make it worth your while too... 👍

Visiting your page today, I saw my last comment and realized (as eager as I was) it was impolite for me to "wish" someone would respond, etc... I Thank you for your quick response. I know you have a lot of projects going on all at once and I instantly felt bad when I realized (most people) wouldn't see my post in the same "Eager/Excited" connotation originally intended... As if Tteachers don't deal with enough already; the LAST thing you need is a bitchy "parent" pestering them... 😜

As it turns out, I had ALL of your Brag Tag products in my cart that day - but I quickly realized your Lifetime Bundle contained many themes (if not all) from the other packages in my cart.... By the time I got everyone off to bed I took my time browsing and removing anything that would be "redundant"... Sadly, I missed the fine print. Believing I had plenty of time to shop a bit more (two+ hours before midnight) I was Super Bummed when I discovered the fine print under the promo code/s ends all sales at Midnight EST

😖😖😖😖😖😫😫😫😫😫😭😭😭😭😭🙄

I kept everything in my cart and - with any luck (fingers crossed) I will catch the next big sale in time... 👍👍👍🌻🤗😉

Hi Holly,I am a third grade teacher and want to start the year off trying out the brag tags. I am very excited! I just have a few questions for you.Do you laminate all of your brag tags? At the end of the year do you collect them, or let them bring them home?Thank you!

I laminate all mine because I don't use yardstick. But, if you do choose to use card stock, I wouldn't bother laminating. At the end of the year, I like to send my brag tags home with my students. They work so hard to earn them throughout the year, so It is good for them to get to take them home and show them off. :)